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What to Watch: Tuesday
by the Frontstretch Staff
Robby Gordon Strikes Fan During Baja 500
Monday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Kyle Busch will return to the XFINITY Series for the first time since his Daytona crash. He will be back behind the wheel of the Monster Energy No. 54 beginning at Michigan Saturday. Read more
Kyle Busch, Cup Stars Invade XFINITY Series Field at Michigan
Small Truck Series Field Prepares for Standalone Weekend at Gateway
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For Harvick, Runner-Up May Not Be Good Enough
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by Aaron Bearden
Kevin Harvick is on a roll.
If, for whatever reason, you've fallen off of the face of the Earth for the last four months, "Happy" and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team have been unstoppable, rattling off an unprecedented 10 top-2 finishes in the first 14 races of 2015. It ties a NASCAR record, set by Bobby Allison in 1972 as both driver and crew show no signs of slowing down.
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That doesn't say "top 5" or "top 10," it says top-2.
The defending champ has been the class of the field this season, leading laps in every race save for the season-opening Daytona 500. Harvick has topped practices, made the final round in all but three qualifying sessions, and even made his way to Victory Lane twice at Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Quite frankly, Harvick's start has been the stuff of legends, right up there with the old tales of Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and other racers of NASCAR lore.
Yet amazingly, it doesn't matter -- at least not yet.
While the Bakersfield, Ca. native's results have been awe-inspiring, the only stat that counts during the regular season is wins. Harvick's 13 top 10s have been great for fans heading to Outback Steakhouse to partake in the restaurant's special "Bloomin' Monday," but his two victories are the only thing he would have to show for his regular season if the Chase for the Cup started today.
Even more troubling for Harvick is that those runner-up finishes have come at the hands of his closest competitors.
Harvick has finished second to six-time champion Jimmie Johnson in each of Johnson's four victories. As a result of those four wins, Johnson currently holds what will be the point lead when the Chase begins -- even though his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet has suffered three finishes outside of the top 30.
Along with Johnson, Harvick has also suffered runner-up disappointments to a surging Kurt Busch, as well as the suddenly dominant Martin Truex, Jr. After a dismal 2014, Truex Jr. has been the class of the field for the last month of NASCAR competition, leading the most laps in the last four events. However, the Furniture Row Racing driver had struggled to close the deal, losing the first three races in increasingly heartbreaking fashion.
Sunday at Pocono Raceway, Harvick appeared to have the car to deny Truex again. However, poor pit strategy and gear issues on restarts left Harvick staring at the back of the New Jersey native's No. 78 Chevrolet as Truex drove to his first victory since 2013.
Busch, Harvick's teammate has also shown tremendous speed, rising into the top 15 in points despite running three fewer races than his competitors. Busch was in position to win at Fontana until a late caution foiled his plans, but made up for it by topping Harvick in the rain-delayed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Surrendering wins to multiple surging drivers may not seem like an issue - each one is well on their way to making the Chase on points. But in doing so, Harvick lost valuable bonus points for the Chase himself, all while giving his biggest competitors momentum. A broken track bar adjuster inside the car, designed to help the driver make in-race fixes has also haunted the No. 4 team in recent weeks, as good his both his crew and team has been overall.
Implying that Harvick should be worried at this stage in the season would be an exercise in hyperbole. His 5.8 average finish is a full two positions ahead of second place Truex Jr. and the 15-year veteran is an astounding 144 ahead of ninth-place Matt Kenseth; it's the equivalent to three full races on track. Harvick's going to make the Chase and will probably be one of the favorites to win races and race for the title when NASCAR heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway to end the season.
That said, there's one major difference between the tales of legends like Petty, Yarborough, and Harvick: The Chase. If Harvick can't do it all over again for the final ten races, all of his top-2 finishes will be for naught. Finishing as the runner-up might not be good enough; just ask Ryan Newman.
I never thought a Linkin Park song could be applied to NASCAR, but the chorus from their famous "In the End" could potentially sum up Harvick's stellar regular season.
"I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter...."
Aaron Bearden is a Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at aaron.bearden@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
Numbers Game: Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400
by Tom Bowles
0
Drivers in NASCAR history who have led the most laps in four straight Cup races -- and failed to win any of those events. Martin Truex, Jr. avoided being the first with his feel-good triumph Sunday at Pocono. (For the record, he led a race-high 97 circuits).
1
Lap led by Martin Truex, Jr. with Furniture Row Racing last season.
486
Laps led by Martin Truex, Jr. with Furniture Row Racing in 2015.
2
Drivers within twelve seconds of the lead by the time the checkered fell at Pocono. Truex and Kevin Harvick battled for the victory while motoring away from the rest of the field in just a 16-lap, green-flag run to the finish.
3
Straight finishes of 37th or worse for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Stenhouse wrecked at Pocono, claiming the brakes were failing on his Ford en route to 42nd.
4
Straight top-20 finishes for Greg Biffle after just four of them in the season's first ten races. He was 12th Sunday, leading the way for Roush Fenway Racing during a difficult afternoon for the program (see above).
5
Number of Cup point races won by Chevrolet over the last six. Carl Edwards' fuel mileage victory at Charlotte was the only one to break the streak.
6
Cautions in the final 73 laps at Pocono after two in the first 87. That averaged out to one about every 10-12 laps; the number of yellows left a larger-than-usual 28 cars on the lead lap by the finish of the race.
8
Drivers out of the ten qualified for the Chase that have just one victory. Jimmie Johnson (four) and Harvick (two) are the only multi-race winners this season.
8
Second-place finishes for Harvick this season, including Sunday at Pocono. Harvick now has ten top-2 finishes on the year, tying a NASCAR record set by Bobby Allison in 1972.
13
Top-10 finishes for both Harvick and Truex this season, leaving them on pace for a modern-era record 33. Bristol was the only race in which either one of them failed to crack the top 10.
14
Points Kyle Busch gained on 30th-place point man Trevor Bayne Sunday.
151
Points Busch remains behind Bayne for 30th in the standings. He needs to gain an average of 13 points on 30th over the next 12 races in order to sneak in.
$117,723
Money won by Kyle Larson for finishing eighth.
$119,845
Money won by Trevor Bayne for finishing 24th.
Tom Bowles is the Editor-in-Chief of Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.bowles@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
NASCAR's Danica Domino
by Tom Bowles
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
Q: Cale Yarborough claimed his sixth career victory at Michigan International Speedway in the 1982 Gabriel 400. However, the victory took quite a while. What happened?
A: The race was put under the red flag for over five hours due to heavy rain and thunderstorms. NASCAR managed to get all 200 laps in, but it took until nearly 9:30 p.m. to do so. It was essentially dark at the finish.~~~~~~~~~~
COMING TOMORROW
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